Door latch operating unit



F. J. M CONNELL DOOR LATCH OPERATING UNIT Original Filed Sept. 17, 1952United States Patent C) noon LATCH OPERATING UNIT Frank J. McConnell,New Britain, Conn., assiguor to The American Hardware Corporation, NewBritain, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Original applicationSeptember 17, 1952, Serial No. 310,031. Divided and this applicationSeptember 30, 1952, Serial No. 312,291

12 Claims. (Cl. 292-3363) This invention relates to a door latchoperating unit such as fully shown and described in my co-pendingapplication, Serial No. 310,031, filed September 17, 1952, of which thisapplication is a division, and more particularly to the construction ofthe rotatable operating means employed in said unit for actuating theretractor contained therein.

An object of the present invention is to provide rotatable operatingmeans for a cylindrical door latch operating unit which are rotatablysupported on the casing of said unit in a manner which eliminates thenecessity of providing bearing sleeves on said casing, thereby effectinga considerable saving of material.

Another object of this invention is to provide a bearing, for supportingthe rotatable operating means of such a unit, which is inexpensive toproduce and easy to assemble, thereby contributing substantially to thelow cost of manufacture of said operating unit.

A further object of the present invention is to provide rotatableoperating means, for a cylindrical door latch operating unit, whichinclude bushings that carry the knob spindles of the unit and arerotatably mounted in the end walls of the casing by means which renderit unnecessary to provide bearing sleeves on the casing of said unit forsupporting said rotatable operating means as commonly provided onconventional mechanisms heretofore produced.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be more clearlyunderstood from the following description and the accompanying drawingsin which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view, partially in central horizontal section, of thecasing and operating means forming a part of my cylindrical door latchoperating unit.

Fig. 2 is a front view thereof, partially in central vertical section,further illustrating the construction of the rotatable operating means.

Fig. 3 is a sectional end view of said unit taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a similar view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an exploded isometric view of some of the parts forming theoperating means illustrating the relative positions which they occupy inthe unit.

The portions of the cylindrical door latch operating unit disclosed inthe accompanying drawing are the same as those disclosed in myabove-mentioned, co-pending application and include a cylindrical casing5 which contains a slidably mounted retractor of any suitable type,

such as that disclosed in said co-pending application.

The inner end of the casing 5 is provided with an end Wall 6 having acircular opening 7 therein, and the outer open end of the casing has acover plate 8 secured thereto by means of prongs 9 which project fromthe casing 5 through similarly disposed slots in the cover plate 8 andwhich are peened over to secure the cover plate to the casing after theretractor mechanism has been installed therein. The cover plate 8 has acircular opemng 10 therein which is co-axial with the opening 7 in theend wall 6.

Patented Aug. 21, 1956 My improved operating means for actuating theretractor contained within the casing 5 includes tubular bushing members11-11, one of which is rotatably mounted in each of the openings 7 and10 in the end wall 6 and cover plate 8 respectively. Each of saidbushings 11-11 is provided with flange sections 12 and 12-a which extendoutwardly from the inner end of the bushing and abut the inner surfaceof the member in which the bushing is rotatably mounted to rotatablysupport said bushing and retain it against axial movement outwardly ofsaid casing. Said bushings are also provided with a plurality of equallyspaced slots 13 which extend into the wall of the bushing from its outerend for a portion of its length, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 5, andthe ends 13-11 of the slots 13 provide abutments which are substantiallyco-planar with the outer surface of the members in which the bushingsare mounted.

An annular washer 14 surrounds each of said bushings and has lugs 15extending inwardly therefrom which are received in and project throughthe slots 13 and abut the ends 13-a of said slots to thereby positionsaid washer against the outer surface of the member in which the bushingis mounted and at the proper distance from the flange sections 12 and12a to prevent binding thereof and permit free rotation of said bushing.In addition to rotatably supporting the bushings, the washers provideretaining means that prevent axial movement of said bushings inwardly ofthe casing.

On the inner side of the unit, a tubular spindle 18 is telescopicallyreceived in the bore of the bushing 11 and has its end portion inengagement with the portions of the lugs 15 projecting through the slots13 to thereby retain the lugs against the ends 13-a of said slots andthe washer 14 in proper position. The entire assembly consisting of thebushing 11, the washer 14 and the tubular spindle 18 is retained inassembled position by soldering, or otherwise securing, the said spindle18 to the bushing as indicated at 19.

The said spindle 18 carries an inner knob 20 having a shank portion 21which surrounds the spindle and is non-rotatably secured thereto bymeans of a projection 22 which extends inwardly from said shank into aslot 23 extending the length of said spindle. The inner knob 20 isretained on the spindle 18 by means of a depressable knob retainer 24such as that shown in said co-pending application.

The outer bushing member 11, and washer 14 are held in position by aspindle 25 in the same manner as above described and said spindlecarries an outer knob 26 which is non-rotatably secured to the spindle25 in the same manner that the inner knob 21 is secured to its spindle18. The said outer knob 26 is, however, permanently secured to itsspindle 25 by means of an car 27 that extends inwardly from the shank 28into a slot in the spindle.

Each of the bushings 11-11 has rollback portions 2929 formed integrallytherewith which extend into the casing 5 for operating the retractorcontained therein.

It will be understood from the above description, that the constructionof the operating means of my improved door latch operating unit providesa rotatable mounting for the inner and outer knobs which does notrequire the provision of bearing sleeves on the casing and cover plateand does, therefore, effect a substantial saving of material and laborwhich considerably reduces the cost of the unit. Furthermore, thebushings 11 and washers 14 provides supporting means for the spindleswhich are simple to assemble and extremely durable.

I claim:

1. In a door latch operating unit including a casing adapted to havearetractor movably mounted therein,

means for operating said retractor comprising a member rotatably carriedby said casing and having a slot therein extending for a portion of itslength, retaining means on sa d member abutting one side of a stationaryportion of said unit, separate retaining means secured to said memherand abutting the opposite side of said stationary portion, said separateretaining means having a portion engaging the end of said slot and beingspaced thereby a predetermined distance from said first mentionedretainlng means to permit free rotation of said member, rollback meansassociated with said member for operatmg the retractor, and means forrotating said member.

2. In a door latch operating unit including a casing adapted to have aretractor movably mounted therein, means for operating said retractorcomprising a member rotatably carried by said casing and having a slottherein extending for a portion of its length, retaining means on saidmember abutting one side of a stationary portion of said unit, separateretaining means carried by said member for abutting the opposite side ofsaid stationary portion and cooperating with said retaining means toprevent axial movement of said member; said separate retaining meanshaving a portion projecting through and abutting the end of said slotwhereby said separate retaining means is spaced a predetermined distancefrom said first mentioned retaining means to prevent binding of saidretaining means on said stationary portion, a separate member secured tosaid rotatable member with its end against said portion of the separateretaining means to retain said separate retaining means in position,rollback means associated with said member for operating the retractor,and means for rotating said member.

3. In a door latch operating unit including a casing having an end wallwith a circular opening thcrethrough and adapted to have a retractormovably mounted therein, means for operating said retractor comprising amember rotatably mounted in said opening, retaining means on said memberabutting the inner surface of the wall, separate retaining means carriedby said member and abutting the outer surface of said wall; saidretaining means cooperating with said separate retaining means forpreventing axial movement of said member in said opening, a spindlenon-rotatably secured to said member and abutting said separateretaining means toretain said means in position, means carried by saidspindle for rotating it to rotate said member, and rollback meansassociated with said member for operating said retractor.

4. In a door latch operating unit including a casing having an end wallwith a circular opening therethrough and adapted to have a retractormovably mounted therein, means for operating said retractor comprising atubular member rotatably mounted in said opening and having a slotextending thereinto for a portion of its length, retaining means on saidtubular member abutting the inner surface of said wall, separateretaining means carried by said tubular member for abutting the outersurface of said wall and cooperating with said first mentioned retainingmeans to prevent axial movement of said tubular member in said opening;said separate retaining means having a portion abutting the end of saidslot whereby it is spaced a predetermined distance from said firstmentioned retaining means to permit free rotation of said tubularmember, a spindle non-rotatably secured to said tubular member andabutting the said separate retaining means to retain said means inposition, means carried by said spindle for rotating it to rotate saidtubular member, and rollback means associated with said tubular memberfor operating said retractor.

5. In a door latch operating unit including a casing having an end wallwith a circular opening therethrough and adapted to have a retractorslidably mounted therein, means for operating said retractor comprisinga tubular bushing which extends through said opening, is rotatabletherein and has a plurality of slots extending thereunto for a portionof its length, a flange on said bushing abutting the inner surface ofthe wall surrounding said opening, an annular Washer carried by saidbushing and having inwardly projecting radial lugs thereon which extendthrough said slots into the base of said bushing, a tubular spindlesecured in and projecting outwardly from the base of said bushing withits end in engagement with said lugs to retain said lugs against the endof said slots and the washer in abutment with the outer side of saidwall; said flange and washer rotatably supporting said bushing in saidopening and preventing axial movement thereof, a knob secured to saidspindle for rotating it and said bushing, and rollbacks extending fromsaid bushing for operating said retractor.

6. In a door latch operating unit including a casing adapted to receivea movable retractor, means for actuating said retractor comprising atubular member rotatably carried by said casing and having a slottherein extending for a portion of its length, retaining means on saidtubular member abutting one side of a stationary portion of said unit,separate retaining means carried by said tubular member abutting theopposite side of said stationary portion and cooperating with saidretaining means for preventing axial movement of said tubular member;said separate retaining means having a portion projecting through andabutting the end of said slot whereby said separate retaining means isspaced a predetermined distance from said first mentioned retainingmeans to prevent binding thereof on said stationary portion, a tubularspindle non-rotatably secured to said tubular member with its endportion abutting the said portion of the separate retaining means toretain it against the end of said slot, rollback means associated withsaid tubular member, and a knob secured to said tubular spindle forrotating said tubular spindle and said tubular member to cause actuationof said retractor by said rollback means.

7. In a door latch operating unit including a casing adapted to receivea movable retractor and having an end wall with a circular openingtherethrough; means for actuating said retractor comprising a bushingjournalled in said opening, retaining means on Said bushing abutting oneside of said end Wall, separate retaining means carried by said bushingand abutting the opposite side of said end wall; said retaining meansand said separate retaining means preventing axial movement of saidbushing in said opening, a spindle member secured to said bushing andpositioning said separate retaining means a predetermined distance fromsaid first mentioned retaining means to permit free rotation of saidbushing member in said opening, rollback means associated with saidbushing, and a knob secured to said spindle for rotating said bushing tocause operation of said retractor by said rollback means.

8. In a door latch operating unit including a casing adapted to receivea movable retractor; means for actuating said retractor comprising abushing member journalled in said casing, retaining means on saidbushing member abutting one side of a stationary portion of said casing,separate retaining means carried by said bushing member and abutting theopposite side of said portion; said retaining means and said separateretaining means preventing axial movement of said bushing memberrelatively to said casing, a separate member secured to said bushingmember with its end portion abutting said separate retaining means toposition said separate retaining means a predetermined distance fromsaid first mentioned retaining means to permit free rotation of saidmember, rollback means associated with said bushing member, and meansfor rotating said bushing member to cause operation of said retractor bysaid rollback means.

9. In a door latch operating unit including a casing adapted to receivea movable retractor; means for actuating said retractor comprising abushing member journalled in said casing, retaining means on saidbushing member abutting one side of a stationary portion of said casing,separate retaining means carried by said bushing member and abutting theopposite side of said portion;

said retaining means and said separate retaining means preventing axialmovement of said bushing member relatively to said casing, a spindlemember secured to said bushing member with its end portion abutting saidseparate retaining means to thereby position said separate retainingmeans a predetermined distance from said first mentioned retaining meansto permit free rotation of said bushing member, rollback meansassociated with said bushing member, and a knob secured to said spindlefor rotating said bushing member to cause operation of said retractor bysaid rollback means.

10. In a door latch operating unit including a casing adapted to receivea movable retractor and having an end wall with a circular openingtherein; means for actuating said retractor comprising a bushing memberjournalled in said opening, retaining means on said bushing memberengaging one side of said end wall, separate retaining means carried bysaid bushing member and engaging the opposite side of said end wall,abutment means on said bushing member adapted to position said separateretaining means a predetermined distance from said first mentionedretaining means to permit free rotation of said bushing member in saidopening; said first mentioned retaining means and said separateretaining means preventing axial movement of said bushing member in saidopening, a spindle member telescopically received by said bushing memberand secured thereto with its end portion abutting said separateretaining means to retain said separate retaining means in engagementwith said abutment means, rollback means on said bushing member, and aknob carried by said spindle for rotating said bushing member to causeoperation of said retractor by said rollback means.

11. In a door latch operating unit including a casing adapted to receivea movable retractor and having an end wall with a circular openingtherein; means for actuating said retractor comprising a tubular bushingjournalled in said opening, flange means on said bushing engaging theinner side of said end wall, an annular washer surrounding said bushingand engaging the outer side of said end wall and cooperating with saidflange means to prevent axial movement of said bushing in said opening,a spindle secured to said bushing with its end portion abutting saidwasher to position it relatively to said flange means, rollback meansextending from said bushing, and a knob secured to said spindle forrotating said bushing to cause actuation of said retractor by saidrollback means.

12. In a door latch operating unit including a casing adapted to receivea movable retractor and having an end wall with a circular openingtherein; means for actuating said retractor comprising a tubular bushingjournalled in said opening, a flange on said bushing abutting the innerside of said end wall, an annular washer surrounding said bushing andabutting the opposite side of said end wall and cooperating with saidflange to prevent axial movement of said bushing in said opening,abutment means on said bushing for locating said washer a predetermineddistance from said flange to permit free rotation of said bushing, aspindle secured to said bushing with its end abutting said washer toretain it against said abutment means, rollback means on said bushing,and a knob secured to said spindle for rotating said bushing to causeactuation of said retractor by said rollback means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS733,368 Caley July 14, 1903 934,702 Thomas Sept. 21, 1909 1,606,590Moore Nov. 9, 1926 2,027,731 Holpfer Jan. 14, 1936 2,207,877 SchlageJuly 16, 1940 2,314,488 Fellows Mar. 23, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 236,055Great Britain July 2, 1925

